New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner out of England Test series

Daily Mail UK – Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of New Zealand’s two-Test series against England because of a knee injury.

Summary

Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of New Zealand’s two-Test series against England because of a knee injury.

Spin duties will therefore predominantly fall to 31-year-old leg-break bowler Todd Astle, who has made only two one-off appearances in Tests – in 2012 against Sri Lanka and four years later against Pakistan.

Middle-order batsman Ross Taylor has been included after missing the ODI decider – which England won to clinch a 3-2 series victory – with a quadriceps injury, while wicketkeeper BJ Watling returns after a hip problem sidelined him for the two Tests against West Indies at the back end of last year.

‘BJ is a proven performer at Test level for us and brings a lot to the group both on and off the field,’ Larsen added.

New Zealand will stage a day-night Test for the first time when the series gets under way at Eden Park on March 22.